Bald guys have more fun: Come playoff time, the amount of hair in an NHL dressing room normally increases, but that won’t be the case for the Canadiens during the 2008 playoffs. With Tom Kostopoulos leading the way, some Habs decided to shave their heads, including Francis Bouillon, Guillaume Latendresse, Josh Gorges and even Patrice Brisebois.

“I’m not the official barber, that’s Josh,” revealed Kostopoulos. “He shaved my head, Breezer’s, Bouillon’s and Guillaume’s and then I did his. It was pretty cool to see Patrice get on board, he’s usually pretty proud of that hair of his.”

Latendresse meanwhile was happy with his new aerodynamic playoff look.

Josh has some serious skills with a clipper. He could have a bright future as a barber if he wanted to.- Guillaume Latendresse

“I think it looks pretty good,” said Latendresse proudly rubbing his head. “Josh has some serious skills with a clipper. He could have a bright future as a barber if he wanted to.”

No haircut, please: Latendresse’s good buddy Maxim Lapierre was still rocking his trademark flowing locks on Thursday morning after practice since the feisty centerman opted not to take a little off the top or back.

“If it was a thing where everyone in the room was doing it, then I would’ve done it,” backtracked Lapierre, who is the proud owner of the closest thing to a mullet in the Habs’ dressing room. “Besides, once I saw Guillaume do it, I knew I wouldn’t follow what he did, that’s for sure.”

Playing it safe: With Patrice Bergeron still on the mend but eyeing a return to action during the playoffs, his head coach isn’t about to rush his most explosive player back to the lineup.

“Patrice will come back when he’s ready,” said Julien. “We are going to be extremely careful with him. His career could be at stake.”

Also on the injury front for the Bruins, top scorer Marc Savard might find himself back on the ice with his teammates tonight for the first time since being sidelined by a Steve Begin cross-check on March 22. Savard’s status remains a game-time decision.

Powerful stuff: Speaking of Julien, no one had to remind the former Habs coach about the importance of being wary of the Canadiens’ league-leading power play, which clicked against his Bruins, converting 10-of-34 opportunities for a 29.4 % efficiency rating in eight meetings this season.

“When you’re facing a team with the best power play in the NHL, it all comes down to discipline,” explained Julien. “If we start taking too many penalties it would just be like handing the Canadiens the series.”
Carbo’s empty inbox: The BlackBerry and other handheld devices are becoming all the rage everywhere, including the NHL, as coaches keep updates on what's happening across the league. On Wednesday afternoon, Habs coach Guy Carbonneau was wondering if perhaps his was on the fritz.

“I’m sure the Bruins will try all kinds of different things since they’ve lost 11 in a row against us,” said Carbonneau. “I can’t tell you what those changes will be since I still haven’t received that email from Claude Julien yet.”